2nd SCO International Issyk-Kul Marathon

On 15 May, 2021, the 2nd SCO International Issyk-Kul Marathon was held in Cholpon-Ata, Issyk-Kul Region, Kyrgyz Republic.

Addressing the opening ceremony, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov said: "The goal of the marathon is to promote healthy lifestyles and to inform the population about regular fitness and sports activities. In addition to this, sports events strengthen the cooperation between the SCO member countries, and contribute to the development of tourism and international friendly sports links. They also help to identify the best marathon runners in the region. On 1 December 2019, a memorandum of understanding was inked between the SCO Kunming Marathon and the SCO Issyk-Kul Marathon in Kunming, China."

President Japarov also stressed, "It's not by chance that they say that sports spells out health, health is the property of the people, and a healthy nation means an advanced country. Sports strengthens a person physically.

Therefore, by making the majority of people interested in sports we will protect our people's health, and our young people and the up and coming generations will be healthy and spiritually developed. It is for this reason that the advancement of sports is not only a way of getting sporting achievements but also of improving the health of the people."

The president wished all the athletes and track-and-field enthusiasts involved in the event happiness in their family lives, success, and good sports results. He also said he hoped they would be active members of the society.
"Let the strongest win this marathon! But the greatest victory is actually your participation itself. I wish you all the best of luck," President Japarov said in conclusion.

SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov sent his message of greetings to the marathon participants, saying that sports exchanges were an inalienable part of cultural and humanitarian cooperation and an important factor of the international agenda.

Secretary-General Norov stressed that the SCO countries were encouraging in every way the interaction in the field of sports. Specifically, the SCO Agreement on Cooperation in Physical Fitness and Sports was signed on the sidelines of the Bishkek Summit in 2019. The Moscow Declaration of 10 November 2020 recognised the role of sports as one of the important tools of peace, social integration and sustained development.

Mr Norov reminded the participants that a number of major sports events dedicated to the SCO's anniversary were scheduled for this year. Preparations are in progress for the SCO international marathons in Dushanbe and Kunming, as well as for tournaments in various sports. In his opinion, the said events are significant and symbolic in that they are being held in the year that the SCO leaders have announced the Year of SCO Culture.

"It could be mentioned without any exaggeration that the SCO Marathons, which were launched in 2016 and held first in Kunming (a total of five, with the 6th event scheduled for December of this year), Astana (2017), and Issyk-Kul (2019), have become a showpiece of sorts and a signature event not only in the sports life of the growing SCO Family but also an increasingly phenomenon of note in the world of high-performance sports.

The Second Issyk-Kul Marathon, one of the outstanding cultural and sports events of scale in the life of our countries and peoples united by the Shanghai Spirit, is taking place under unprecedented conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

Mr Norov said that he hoped that the SCO Issyk-Kul Marathon involving thousands of participants from a whole range of different countries and continents would become a symbol of the Shanghai Spirit, a symbol of openness, equality, mutual respect and co-development. This marathon will abide by the high ideals of world sports and contribute to the development of multifaceted humanitarian cooperation between the SCO Family countries that boast almost a half of the planet's population.

The Secretary-General expressed certainty that the spectators at the marathon would witness a striking competition, where the contestants would display a will to win, stamina, endurance and the true character of sports people.

In conclusion, he wished all the participants good luck and great victories.

The SCO Marathon involved three thousand track-and-field athletes from 35 countries, including SCO countries. Every security measure was taken to safeguard the participants' health against the background of the pandemic.
The athletes competed on 3, 10, 21.1 and 42.2 kilometres.
The winners in the marathon (42 km) were:

Men:
Ilya Tyapkin (Kyrgyzstan) 1st place, 2 hours 27 minutes 48 seconds;
Joodarbek Kochkonbayev (Kyrgyzstan) 2nd place, 2 hours 29 minutes 50 seconds;
Shakirjan Mamatkulov (Tajikistan) 3rd place, 2 hours 37 minutes 56 seconds.

Women:
Maria Korobitskaya (Kyrgyzstan) 1st place, 2 hours 39 minutes 40 seconds;
Darya Maslova (Kyrgyzstan) 2nd place, 2 hours 44 minutes 53 seconds;
Goulshanoi Satarova (Kyrgyzstan) 3rd place, 2 hours 46 minutes.